The Fuel Medz The Fuel Medz gas pill increases gas mileage and saves money. The pill is a unique, patented technology developed to provide and maintain a catalytically active surface coating in the combustion chambers of engines-this means drivers are getting more miles per gallon by making better use of the fuel delivered; thus improving

Airlink Mobile The increasingly popular Airlink Mobile’s wireless prepaid handsets are landing in c-stores across the country. With Airlink Mobile’s free nights and weekends, free new phone offer, low price point and great margins, retailers have found that the company provides the best prepaid wireless program for the c-store industry. Current product offerings include pre-paid

Increased channel blurring is making it tougher for convenience stores to retain existing customers—and harder yet to develop loyalty in new ones. With drug stores like Walgreens and Rite Aid now selling beer and wine, Dunkin’ Donuts offering a wide array of drinks, and fast feeders continuing to gobble up market share by offering consumers

Practice this phrase and try to have it down pat by midcentury: “Bienvenido a la bodega.” Sure, it’ll require a bit more than that (“Welcome to the little convenience store”) to gain loyalty from Spanish-speaking Hispanic consumers. But it’s probably a feel-good start in outfitting the c-store to attract one of the fastest-growing demographics in

Here in the 21st century, providing c-store customers with financial products and services like money orders, check cashing, ATM access, electronic bill payment and payday loans can be as easy, and as necessary, as selling soda, candy and beer. But it requires a bit more thinking. Convenience store operators are increasingly partnering with providers like

While gift card malls have been getting a lot of attention, prepaid debit, credit, gift and especially gas cards offered by Visa, MasterCard and American Express are quietly booming in popularity. Prepaid’s profit potential is fueled by shifts in the marketplace, wider social acceptance and the nation’s growing population of "unbanked" lower-income consumers. And while

According to figures from Mercator Advisory Group, the prepaid market isn’t big—it’s huge, and growing exponentially every year. Mercator’s debit advisory head Tim Sloane said that closed loop prepaid cards grew at a rate of 88% year over year from 2002 through 2006. Sloane predicts that when the 2007 figures are analyzed, they’ll show another

Maybe it’s all headed toward a day of total convergence, when the lines separating one industry from the next will be irreversibly blurred. Consider the freewheeling dynamics of retailing in the past few years: McDonald’s has been offering DVD rentals by way of in-store kiosks. Blockbuster stores have begun offering c-store fare such as fountain

Driving business with new products is hardly a novel idea, but it’s also one that convenience store retailers rarely use to their advantage, said David Bishop, a partner with research and consulting firm Willard Bishop in Barrington, Ill. When retailers actively participate in the process of bringing a new product to the marketplace by helping

“In a business like cigars, where unit volume is growing 10% plus year-over-year, emerging strategic thinking in convenience retail suggests that retailers can grow even faster by employing a “price-for-volume” strategy for key products.” David Bishop, partner, Willard Bishop This summer, we examined how convenience retailers could manage the cigar category differently to realize above-market

Between Black Friday, Green Monday and Red Alert ("Oh my gosh, I’m out of time!) Christmas Eve, millions of American shoppers realize their days… and dollars are numbered. Heading into the homestretch, time is at a premium and every convenience helps. Enter 7-Eleven. Created 80 years ago as a quick in-and-out shopping alternative for time-crunched

Nestle USA to sell the popular beverage brand in grocery stores in eight states and quickly expand into convenience stores. Nestle USA is planning to sell smoothie maker Jamba Inc’s drinks at grocery stores in eight states in the western United States, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition. The deal is Jamba’s

UK megaretailer looking at dozens of California sites for rapid expansion. Only three weeks after opening its first American stores, near Los Angeles, Tesco is looking at dozens of sites in Northern California as it seeks to extend its Fresh & Easy convenience chain. It is part of the supermarket’s expansion drive in the U.S.

Working with Cott, chain targets tattooed America with new proprietary energy drink. Energy drinks, one of the fastest-growing offerings in the beverage industry, are marketed to “Generation Cool,” particularly males between the ages 18 through 20-something who call many of the trend-setting shots in the U.S. So when 7-Eleven Inc. set out to create its

Deal includes eight stores in Florida, Alabama and Texas. Mister Car Wash has acquired the Car Wash Headquarters chain, adding eight stores in Tampa, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., and Mesquite, Texas under its widening umbrella. Financial terms were not disclosed. The company believes the latest acquisition makes Mister Car Wash the second largest carwash chain in

New NACS Supplier Board Chairman Pat Cordle, vice president of sales and marketing for Bic Corp., leads the new slate of officers who will serve on the 2007-08 NACS Supplier Board that was announced today during the Supplier Board meeting at the NACS Show 2007 in Atlanta . In addition, Brad Heetland, director of east

“Victor E Van” customized for Arizona State University. Chevron Products Co. has released Victor E. Van, the newest addition to its Chevron Cars family, customized for Arizona State University (ASU). Victor E. Van comes in ASU maroon and gold, features eyes that move, doors that open, side-view mirrors, and stickers with the ASU logo. Vans

Touting its dual branding strategy and ExtraMile convenience store concept, retailers offered concessions on gift cards and credit processing. by John Lofstock, Editor Chevron Corp.’s North American Marketing Convention, which wrapped up in Denver on Saturday, gave Chevron and Texaco operators plenty to be excited about. In addition to announcing it’s dual branded fuel strategy

by John Lofstock, Editor Convenience Store Decisions’ Power 25 recognizes industry pioneers, association executives and lawmakers that shape the way the convenience store industry operates. These influential business leaders are being selected for the lasting contributions they have made to the convenience channel and the impact their influence has on shaping the future of convenience

Car wash firm to sell and service accounts from Connecticut to Maine. Mark VII Equipment Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of WashTec AG of Germany, Has begun directly selling and servicing Mark VII equipment in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. “Following a management change at our former distributor, both parties decided not

If knowledge is power, than activity-based costing is an important catalyst to building a knowledge base that can give you the power to analyze complex business issues more effectively. Leveraging Activity-Based Costing in Merchandising Decision-Making (pdf)To view this document, click here

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